“I’d Cry”: Comrades Marathon Runners Not Making It Past the Finish Line in Time Leaves SA Sad

• A video showed the heartbreaking moment runners arrived at the finish line just seconds after the 12-hour cutoff gun was fired
• The expressions on the runners' faces as the barrier went up in front of them moved many
• The 2026 Comrades Marathon was the 99th edition of the race, with over 21,000 runners taking on the 85.7 km Up Run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg

Every Comrades Marathon runner knows about the 12-hour cutoff. But knowing about it and living it are two very different things. The official Comrades Marathon Facebook page shared a video on 14 June 2026 that left many feeling sad. The caption read:

"The moment that every Comrades Marathon runner dreads: that 12-hour cutoff, the absolute disappointment at making the line but not the 12-hour time limit!"

The video shows the final seconds before the gun goes off. Runners are still coming in, pushing hard, giving everything they have left in their legs. A man stands with his back to the finish, pistol raised, counting down from seven.

Read also

"We did a thing": Scottish couple driving from Scotland arrive in SA after 330 days on the road

When the trigger is pulled, a barrier goes up and the exit is closed. A woman and several others who were a few meters away from crossing could not get through in time. The look on their faces showed disbelief and devastation. They had run the best part of 86 km and missed the cutoff by seconds.

The race that breaks and builds you

The Comrades Marathon is the world's oldest and largest ultramarathon, first run in 1921 by World War I veteran Vic Clapham to honour South African soldiers. Its motto, Ska Fela Moya, means "Never Lose Hope."

The 2026 edition was the 99th running of the race and the 50th official Up Run. George Kusche won the men's race in a new record time of 5:15:56. Gerda Steyn claimed her fifth victory in 5:44:53, also breaking her own record. But for many of the over 21,000 starters, the day ended not with a medal but with a moment at the barrier.

The runners who missed the cutoff were redirected to a separate exit. A trumpeter played a tune as the last arrivals came through.

Watch the Facebook clip below:

SA cheers on the Comrades runners

People were emotional watching the moment unfold on the Facebook page:

Read also

Boy selling tire for food gets help from anonymous hero in video

@StephenCaelers questioned:

"And then the last athlete home was in wave 2 with an orange number, not 3, so he ran 12h14:59? Or am I missing something?"

@MakapaMakhoro wrote:

"That trumpet would make me wail 40 days and 40 nights!"

@TKMichael said:

"Not all heroes wear capes. You are still a hero in my world."

@BabalwaNakasaQaba wrote:

"My heart breaks for every runner who experiences this. To come so far, give everything you have, and miss the cutoff by moments is devastating. But no one can take away the courage, discipline, and determination it took to get to that finish line. Respect..."

@MsuthukaziNongwe said:

"Who is crying with me after the trumpet? But they are all winners."

More on the 2026 Comrades Marathon

• Briefly News recently reported on comedian Schalk Bezuidenhout crossing the Comrades finish line only to be handed something that made him try to tear it up on the spot.
• Gerda Steyn walked away from her fifth Comrades win with a financial reward that had South Africans impressed.
• Comrades winner George Kusche opened up about an embarrassing incident that happened near the finish line.

Source: Briefly News